A heroin and crack-cocaine dealer from Harrogate has been jailed for over three years.
Scott Bradley, 36, was arrested after patrol officers in Harrogate town centre came across a group of suspicious-looking men, York Crown Court heard.
The group were “huddled” around Bradley in Bower Street in what appeared to be a drug deal, said prosecutor Jemima Stephenson.
Bradley appeared to discard a plastic bag into the hedgerow behind him. He was quickly arrested and searched.
Extra police units were called in after one of the men in the “huddle” walked up to police to try to distract them.
Police seized a tin of white powder from Bradley who claimed it was bicarbonate of soda. They also seized two mobile phones, one of which was “constantly ringing”, some tablets, two sets of weighing scales and £180 cash.
Police searched the vicinity and found a snap bag containing “multiple” wraps of white and brown powder which turned out to be heroin and cocaine.
Bradley refused to reveal his address so his home couldn’t be searched. He was released under investigation following the drug bust on January 2 last year.
In January this year, police were called out to an address in Harrogate on an unrelated matter and Bradley answered the door. He was arrested again and found to be in possession of heroin.
On October 13, he was arrested again following a police response to another “unconnected” matter at a property in Harrogate.
Bradley became “twitchy” during the police search and tried to put his hand in his pocket, whereupon officers found some white rocks which turned out to be crack cocaine in a zip-sealed bag. They also found three wraps containing illicit substances and some weighing scales.
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The drugs found on Bradley during the searches following his initial arrest included heroin, cocaine, crack and cannabis.
Messages on his phones showed he had been dealing cocaine, crack and heroin between Christmas 2021 and his arrest in January last year.
He ultimately admitted three counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, possessing criminal cash, several counts of simple possession of Class A drugs and one count of possessing a Class B drug.
30 previous convictions
Bradley – formerly of Hargrove Road, Harrogate, but currently of no fixed address – appeared for sentence yesterday (Wednesday, December 20) after being remanded in custody.
The court heard he had 30 previous convictions for 60 offences including cannabis production. At the time of his latest drug offences, he was on a community order, imposed in January this year, for burglary.
Defence barrister Jade Bucklow said that Bradley had been using drugs for over 10 years, “progressing from cannabis and alcohol to heroin”.
She said he started dealing to pay off a “large” debt to his drug dealer after he lost his job.
Ms Bucklow said that his dealer had smashed the windows at his then family home and threatened to set the property ablaze if he didn’t pay off the debt.
Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Bradley his offences were “pernicious” because drug-dealing “eats away at society” and led to so much associated crime and collateral damage for those who become addicted.
He added:
“You chose to deal drugs rather than obtain money by legitimate means and if you swim with sharks, you get bitten.”
Bradley was jailed for three-and-a-half years.
